The manufacture and design of today's mobile stations (also known as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers and the like) are constantly evolving. Early mobile station designs were necessarily large and bulky. The radio communications equipment and battery units necessary for their operation, generally were carried in one oversized unit; although in at least one early and cumbersome design the unit was actually divided into two pieces which were then connected by a power cable. Advances in integrated circuitry and electricity storage technology have enabled mobile station designers to create smaller and smaller devices. These instruments are not only lighter, but also less cumbersome and easier to transport. For example, mobile stations are no longer required to be permanently installed in automobiles or connected to bulky separately-carried battery packs. Essentially, today's smaller, more useful mobile stations have simply become more fashionable.
Unfortunately, several drawbacks have followed this new fashionability and convenience. For example, the increased mobility of today's mobile stations has the unintended drawback of subjecting the mobile station to an ever-increasing number of potentially damaging environments. For modern day consumers, these environments include pockets, briefcases, purses, gym bags, glove compartments and toolboxes where the delicate components of the mobile station could potentially contact harmful solid objects and be subjected to moisture. To make matters worse, market forces continue to drive mobile stations smaller, therefore, making it more difficult to protect the sensitive mobile station componentry with heavy-duty structural reinforcements. Accordingly, modern mobile stations are gradually becoming more vulnerable to damage.
This risk of damage is exacerbated by the number of externally accessible components that are provided on modern mobile phones. One of the most prominent of these components is the visual display. Initially, such displays were limited to small, light emitting diodes (LEDs) that indicated whether the phone was on or whether a call was in progress. Gradually, more advanced LED displays were developed that were capable of displaying a dialed telephone number, the current time, or other simple information. More recently, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have become commonplace. An LCD is made by sandwiching an electrically sensitive liquid-crystal material between two very thin pieces of glass or other transparent materials. They are, therefore, easily susceptible to damage by even a relatively minor impact. Despite the hard, transparent cover or similar protective device, generally added to limit this vulnerability, LCDs remain one of the most easily damaged components in modern mobile stations.
One solution offered to provide greater protection for modern mobile stations is the bifold design. A bifold mobile station is one-that may be, generally speaking, folded in half. That is, the instrument is typically made up of at least two parts that are electrically connected together, each part housing a portion of the mobile station's internal components. For the purposes of this application, the term “folded in half” is used in a general sense, that is, the two “halves” are not necessarily equal in size. There may even be more than two “halves” although such a design is not typical. Traditionally, the two halves of a mobile station are held together by a hinge that is “opened” when the device is used. Opening the mobile station in a clam-shell type fashion, reveals its LCD and keypad, which would otherwise remain folded inside the unit when closed for storage. Foldable mobile stations may be safely tucked into a pocket or purse, or clipped to a user's belt, while the device's most impact-sensitive components are protected by a hard plastic shell.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C depict a folded mobile station according to the known prior art. Specifically shown, is a mobile station 100 having a first portion 110 and a second portion 150. The first portion 110 houses an LCD 115. The LCD 115 is visible through, and protected by, a clear plastic cover 117. A speaker port 120 is comprised of a series of small openings formed in first portion 110, and lies adjacent to an internal speaker (not shown) that is also housed by the first portion 110. Further, the first portion 110 also typically includes circuitry for driving the LCD 115 and the internal speaker (not shown).
The second portion 150 of a conventional mobile station 100 generally includes a microphone port 155 that is adjacent to an internal microphone (not shown). A keypad 160 is also provided that is comprised of a series of keys extending through a plurality of openings from an otherwise internally disposed key mat. As with the first portion 110, the second portion 150 of mobile station 100 also houses the internal circuitry associated with the above described microphone and keypad. An antenna for facilitating radio frequency (RF) communications may be located in either the first portion 110 or the second portion 150, or may be distributed between them. Mobile station batteries (not shown) are typically stored in the second portion 150, due to the limited space available in the first portion 110 as a result of the LCD 115 and speaker 120 placement. An external power supply (not shown), such as an AC adaptor, may be connected through a power port 140. Similarly, external headphones (not shown) may be connected to the mobile station 100 at the external-device port 145.
Conventional folding mobile stations 100 use a cylindrical hinge 175 similar to a standard door hinge, to bind the first portion 110 to the second portion 150. Manufacturing mobile stations having hinges of this type requires a complex assembly process wherein an axle or pin 180 is inserted into the hinge and a flexible ribbon cable 185 is then awkwardly wrapped around it. Typically, conventional mobile stations 100 also include a pre-assembled detent mechanism 184 that holds the station in open and folded positions.
FIG. 1C illustrates a conventional folding mobile station hinge as described above. The hinge 175 is formed from hinge members 176 and 177 that extend from the first portion 110 and the hinge members 178 and 179 that extend from the second portion 150. The two sections are held together by a hinge pin 180 that extends through openings formed in hinge members 176 through 179. If placed in the orientation illustrated in FIG. 1A, the mobile station 100 is generally ready to operate. When the mobile station is thus “opened,” the user has access to the keypad 160 and can conveniently place the speaker port 120 and microphone port 155 in a position for voice communication. The mobile station 100 may also be “closed” by folding the first portion 110 to meet the second portion 150 in a clam-shell action as indicated by the arrow. FIG. 1B illustrates a known mobile station 100 in the folded position. Advantageously, the first portion 110 and the second portion 150 close in such a manner as to protect the keypad 160 and LCD 115. Generally speaking, known mobile stations 100 cannot be used in a folded configuration, although such functionality may be achieved by employing an external microphone and speaker (not shown). Such devices are often used in ‘hands-free’ operation, and are readily connected through an external-device port 145. As alluded to above, the folded design of modern mobile stations 100 distinguish them from their predecessors by accommodating safe storage on belts, in pockets, purses, or glove compartments without subjecting the sensitive internal components to damage from keys or other objects frequently encountered in such environments.
As should by now be apparent, folded mobile stations possess features that are both useful and desirable to consumers. In addition to the durability improvements discussed above, many users prefer folding designs over others, based on pure aesthetics. Despite the above improvements, the conventional folding design depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B is still not optimum. Like many early designs, conventional folded mobile station designs employ overly complex hinges of the type illustrated in FIG. 1C and are accordingly costly to manufacture. Additionally, the known cylindrical hinge design discussed above provides little or no latitude for alteration or aesthetic improvement.
In light of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to produce an improved foldable mobile station having a minimum of internal hinge components while maintaining a robust, durable design. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a hinge that is relatively simple to assemble and serves to compliment the overall aesthetic appeal of the mobile station.